I live outside the Netherlands. Can I get married in the Netherlands?

If you live abroad and want to marry in the Netherlands, you must meet certain requirements.

Requirements for marrying in the Netherlands

Either you or your partner must be a Dutch national or live in the Netherlands. If you both live outside the Netherlands and neither of you is a Dutch national you cannot get married in the Netherlands.
You and your partner must be 18 or older.
You and your partner must not already be married to or have a registered partnership with someone else.
If you are under guardianship you will need the permission of the guardian or the limited jurisdiction judge.
The following family members are not allowed to marry each other or enter into a registered partnership with each other: parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, and brothers and sisters.

Appointing witnesses

You must appoint at least 2 and no more than 4 witnesses to your marriage. The witnesses must be 18 years or older.

Same-sex marriages

In the Netherlands you can marry a partner of the same sex.

General community of property or a marriage contract

You can marry in general community of property or under a marriage contract. Marrying in general community of property means all assets and debts will belong to you and your partner jointly. If you don’t want this, you can have a notary draw up a marriage contract before your marriage. In this contract you and your partner lay down the agreements you have made about your assets and debts.

Required documents

If you want to marry in the Netherlands, you will need to present a number of documents. The documents you need depend on the municipality where you want to get married.

Marriage by proxy

As a rule you and your partner have to appear before the registrar in person in order to get married in the Netherlands. If you or your partner cannot be physically present, you or they can send an authorised representative.

Giving notice of your intention to marry

If you meet all the requirements for marrying in the Netherlands, the next step is to give notice of your intention to marry. If you and your partner both live outside the Netherlands, you must give notice to the municipality of The Hague. Do this at least 8 weeks before your marriage date.

Dispensation to marry

If the person you want to marry is your brother or sister by adoption or through acknowledgement of parentage, this means you do not meet the requirements for getting married in the Netherlands. In some cases the Dutch Minister of Justice and Security can give you special permission. This is called a dispensation to marry.

Contact

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.